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WWLM
WWLM is a CW affiliate serving Memphis, Tennessee and the Mid-South. Broadcasting on channel 15, WWLM is owned and operated by Adelphia Communications after Tribune sold the station after trading WMEM to Kruger Broadcasting. Launched as an independent station, WWLM became a CW affiliate shortly after the CW and MyNetworkTV were conceived in 2006, causing UPN and The WB to move to new stations in all of their markets. In addition to running The CW's schedule, WWLM also airs syndicated programming, including The Steve WIlkos Show, The Jerry Springer Show, and Family Feud. WWLM also operates a subchannel: 15.2 (for Seven Network). To coincide with Adelphia adopting the "Hello News" promos produced by Gari Media Group, WWLM's slogan is "Hello, Memphis." History Launched by TVX Media, the station first signed on the air on September 10, 1978 and was the first station on the UHF band and second independent station in the market(after WMXA-TV 9), as well as the first new commercial station to sign on in Memphis since WBTN (channel 6) debuted 14 years earlier. Memphis had a longer wait for an independent station than other cities its size. However, the Memphis market has always been a medium-sized market because the surrounding suburban and rural areas aren't much larger than Memphis itself. The station originally operated from studios located at 2225 Union Avenue in Memphis. WWLM ran a general entertainment format featuring afternoon cartoons, sitcoms, old movies, drama shows and some sports. In April 1987, WWLM became the market's original Fox affiliate as part of an affiliation deal involving the rest of the TVX stations, and began branding as "Fox 15" on-air. WWLM stayed as a Fox affiliate until 1990 when WWLM was sold to MT Communications, and dropped the Fox affiliate, thus making WWLM an independent once again. The station became a charter UPN affiliate upon the network's launch on January 16, 1995, In 2003, programming from The WB moved from WMEM (where it was a secondary affiliation and shown during late nights slots) to WWLM where it also aired out of pattern. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation (which split from Viacom in December 2005) and Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment(the division that operated The WB) announced that they would dissolve UPN and The WB, and move some of their programming to a newly created network, The CW. On February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced the launch of a new "sixth" network called MyNetworkTV, which would be operated by Fox Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created to compete The CW as well as to give UPN and WB stations that were not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates another option besides converting to independent stations. WWLM became an affiliate of The CW In 2010, about 3 years after purchasing WMEM, Local TV, LLC created Memphis's duopoly when they purcahsed WWLM, making WMEM and WWLM sister stations. In 2013, Tribune Media bought out Local TV, LLC, and both WMEM and WWLM were part of the sale. On Dec. 31, 2015, Tribune traded WMEM to Kruger Broadcasting for KKZOO in El Paso, Texas, thus ending the duopoly. On Jan. 4, 2016, Tribune sold the station to Adelphia Communications. On Jan. 30, 2016, it was announced that Oakhurst Broadcasting, Higgins Broadcasting, and Island Television would merge into Adelphia Broadcasting. Because of the merger, WWLM became another part of a duopoly, this time with ABN-affiliate WBTN. Newscast Launched in 2010, The CW 15 News is WWLM's fouth attempt at a local newscast. WWLM started their newscast shortly after becoming a FOX affiliate and became, at the time, Memphis only prime-time newscast. Once the new owners dropped the FOX affiliate, they dropped FOX 15 News. When WWLM became a UPN affiliate, they decided to try once more to launch a newscast. UPN 15 News was launched in 1995, and had a good run until 2003 when WWLM picked up The WB and ran it after running the UPN schedule, this cancelling the newscast. In 2006, as an affiliate of The CW, The CW 15 News was launched and from 2006-09, the newscast had a good run, but was cancelled shortly after 2009. In 2010, shortly after buying WWLM, Local TV, LLC announced that The CW 15 News will return, but this time is produced by WMEM. Shortly after Tribune traded WMEM away, Tribune began to upgrade WWLM's newscast. And when Adelphia Communications purchased the station, the newscast's name was changed to THE 9 O'Clock News, copying the news title from other CW stations owned and operated by Adelphia. On Oct. 10, 2016, the newscast was changed again as WBTN began producing WWLM's newscast. Although the morning newscast's title stayed the same (The Morning Exchange), the nightly newscast was cancelled due to the newscast competing with sister station WBTN. Programming Schedule Category:CW affiliated stations Category:Former independent stations Category:Former UPN affiliates Category:Former WB network affiliates Category:Former Fox network affiliates Category:Memphis Category:Tennessee Category:Channel 15 Category:Adelphia Communications Category:Television channels and stations established in 1978